Fostering a milieu for high capital gains

From the formulation of strategies for the diversified Kothari Group led by Pradip Kothari to helping bring Australian beer major Fosters to India, Ramabadran has seen it all. In a conversation with DT Next, Ramabadran, a science graduate, who ended up as a CA more due to circumstances than by choice, opened up on his journey and beyond. 

Bringing Fosters to India remains his cherished deal as he had travelled to Melbourne to make presentations way back in 1997. “I have visited all the breweries in Germany. We took a brewery licence for a corporate in Hyderabad. But when the late NT Rama Rao assumed office then, he upset all our plans. On the date of assumption, NTR declared prohibition, and halfway we had to abandon with the Chennai-based promoter not having the wherewithal or money to continue. At that time, Fosters were looking at India and with the government permitting to move the licence from Hyderabad to Aurangabad, I managed to overcome this challenge as Fosters implemented their decision to go to Aurangabad.” 

Three years before, in 1994, he had founded Akshara Finance, an entity named after his daughter. Back then, he had plans to branch off as a non-banking financial institution (NBFC), drawing inspiration from the business model of Sundaram Finance. With merchant banking activities on the rise, he got busy putting together public issues. That exposure gave him access to the minds and company of India’s financial wizards such as Nimesh Shah and Vallabh Bhansali, to name a few.  On the genesis of his company, he says, “The corporate scenario then gave freedom to CAs to practice privately. I capitalised on this opportunity and also had the privilege of heading both the South India Company Secretaries Association as well as the Chartered Accountants’ body. As a CA, I assisted a few companies. But with the permission of stakeholders, I could pursue private practice with full vigour.” 

In 1998, Akshara Finance was rechristened as Old Trafford with former India cricket captain K Srikkanth choosing it to mark the 1983 World Cup triumph. Seven years later, Grant Thornton, one of the world’s leading professional services network, objected to the company’s name and Ramabadran had to step back. “They are a big name and if we ventured into the capital market, it would be difficult for us to fight them due to their financial muscle. This was the advice of our well-wishers,” recalls the angel investor, who now prefers to make money by funding growth-stage companies. His ‘small’ investments, in three firms – two in Chennai and one in Mumbai, are to the tune of Rs 8 crore. These include a financial inclusion entity, a digital technology firm associated with banks and a hospitality company. 

With recovery becoming difficult, the prevailing business scene brought a shift in his mindset as he says “The furore over collection of deposits made me realise that this was not the line I should pursue. Also, ICICI home loans venture decided to eliminate brokerage and as the flavour of private equity picked up, I found that to be more interesting as I helped a topnotch hospitality brand raise Rs 100 crore from ICICI Prudential.” But to his luck, the investment did not appreciate to the anticipated levels and so, with nominal returns the Sabari Group exited. “It was an endemic issue as the hospitality sector hit the lowest trough and nobody made money. And Sabari was no exception,” points out Ramabadran, who had helped many textile companies down south, especially in Tirupur, raise funds. 

A corporate battle fresh in his memory involves him smartly averting a takeover of a Kothari Group Company in 199394, purely using his financial acumen. After getting a whiff of the takeover attempt, Ramabadran quickly ensured that all the resolutions of the Board Meeting were adopted, thanks to a providential intervention of traffic in Chennai. “Our late CM J Jayalalithaa used to take a certain designated route to exit her Poes Garden residence. This delayed the arrival of the (late) Shyam Kothari (Dhirubhai Ambani’s son-in-law), who was eyeing the business take-over of the Pradip Kothari-led KICL, the then Madras-based group with diverse interests from fertilisers to tea. Pradip was Shyam’s cousin. By the time Shyam made it to the venue, the meeting was over and there was nothing to be done.” Ramabadran adds, “In fact, the late Dhirubhai Ambani had once remarked to an acquaintance that had I chosen to represent the Ambanis, at a crucial juncture, they would have emerged victorious in a long drawn corporate entanglement.” The angel investor is now gradually considering a move into the auto finance space, which he believes is a goldmine waiting to be tapped, by the right kind of businessmen.